now and the fiscal cliff negotiation. the back and forth between both sides hasn't been complimentary. quite the opposite, in fact, which means the country needs to prepare for what comes next. that would be automatic spending cups and the expiration of bush era tax breaks. the pentagon has been preparing, and as our john callan reports, so have families who have a whole lot to lose if a deal doesn't get done. >> reporter: jeremy connor, married father of two. >> i've worked recently for a very large defense contractor, and my wife works for that same defense contractor. >> reporter: he left that job after 18 years for more stability since the couple both worked in the same department. >> the discussion of the fiscal cliff just made sense for one of us to get out. >> you know, we didn't know what it looked like down the road, if we were even going to have jobs at all. >> reporter: pentagon's budget for the next ten years has already been flashed $500 billion, and could face another half trillion in automatic cuts if congr